Healthy Skepticism Library item: 8152

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Publication type: Journal Article

Hargreaves S.
Ghost authorship of industry funded drug trials is common, say researchers
BMJ 2007 Feb 3; 334:(7587):223
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/334/7587/223

Abstract:

Ghost authorship, whereby someone who has made a major contribution to a scientific article as an author is not acknowledged, is a widespread practice, says a study published this week.

In the clinical trials investigated in the study, three quarters of individuals who had made significant contributions to the final paper were not listed as authors (PLoS Medicine 2007;4:e19). In most cases these were statisticians working for the company sponsoring the trial.

“Ghost authorship is a form of research misappropriation, and we believe that this practice serves commercial purposes,” said the study’s lead author, Peter Gøtzsche, of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen.

“Authorship establishes accountability, responsibility, and credit for scientific articles. If authorship is misappropriated, readers may be misled, and the potential for manipulated analyses and conclusions may increase,” he added.

The researchers assessed all published, industry initiated randomised trials approved in 1994-5 by the scientific and ethical . . .